Ying and Yang
by hannahtranter16
Summary: Sonic is on loan to GUN and Shadow is not happy about it! One mission and everything changes, Shadow's past is under question and how does Sonic fit into all of this? Summery may make it sound Sonadow, but it is NOT. Friends maybe, but no, not to me anyway, you guys interpret how you want :)
1. Chapter 1

**Okay time for another story! Again it is Sonic, but this time it is not a crappy GCSE story, it is a Story Trade I did with my friend on DeviantART. Supposed to be a one-shot, but I got carried away, so now it is a five-shot, if that makes sense! My OC Carlie the Cat from the previous story is here as well, but its a different kettle of fish with this one. She is now working for GUN and not the Freedom Fighters, and I think there is a better description of her somewhere :) Anyway, have fun reading and please let me know what you think :D**

**Oh yeah the disclaimer, I'm only gonna do this once! Carlie the Cat belongs to me and so does the story, but all other characters belong to SEGA. There done. **

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The Green Hill Zone. Some would say it was a sacred place, others the embodiment of peace. The sun was always shining, the children were always laughing and the breeze played around with the freshly bloomed flowers. The various flora and fauna admired by all who travelled though this wondrous Zone; though many zones and places on Mobius none were as tranquil as the lush ground that spread across this land. That was until about five minutes ago.

Now it was anything but peaceful as the beautiful grass was tarnished by the slick oil that leaked its way out of the cold, harsh machinery set in its heart. The animals cowered in fear as a tall, human figure graced them with his presence, an evil cackle spilling from his mouth. The bunnies and flickeys fleeing for their lives as the memories of past experiences filled their hearts. One was not so fortunate. The figure grabbed a bunny by his cotton-tail and brought him up to his face, adjusting his oval glasses to get a better look.

"Well, well little one, judging by the way your trembling I should assume that you know what's coming," he said, to which the poor creature could do nothing but curl himself up. The figure chuckled, strolling casually to his machine, gazing at the image of his face on the side.

"The machine is ready Dr Eggman," the metallic voice of one of his robot henchman confirmed, as the doctor himself place the little animal inside the container.

"Excellent, but we need to round up a few more first,"

"As you wish,"

As more of the robots began their search for more of the animals that had scampered off only moments ago, the wind picked up, the trees and flowers swaying more rapidly than before. Eggman smiled as he turned around to the cliff he knew was behind him. Standing atop was the one person he knew would come; the one he wished wouldn't, but had come to terms with the fact that he always showed up. The sun had not long risen and was situated perfectly behind the blue hedgehog. The wind he created blowing through his spines as soft, emerald green eyes stared down at the doctor.

"Ah Sonic, long time no see,"

"C'mon Doc, surely you aren't trying the same old thing again?" a smirk crossing his muzzle,

"If at first you don't succeed," the doctor started,

Sonic raised his eyebrow and rolled his eyes at the statement, not needing him to finish what he started, but the smirk adorned on his face never ceased.

"If you think I wasn't prepared for your little arrival then think again,"

"Then I guess it's good that I didn't come alone,"

Now it was Eggman's turn to raise a brow, in confusion. Sonic signalled down with his eyes and Eggman followed his gaze. He found himself staring into the darkness that lingered around the face of the cliff. There stood the dark counterpart of his nemesis. His red eyes piercing through Eggman as he remembered the fear this hedgehog struck into so many people. Fortunately Eggman was not one of them, at least not that he had admitted. Stalking out of the shadows and into the dim light that hit the ground below him, the dark hedgehog sneered at the doctor.

"Your back-up I presume?" Eggman asked, gesturing with his hand, to which the hedgehog's eyes only narrowed further. "

"Shadow, how nice to see you,"

Sonic listened as he heard Shadow scoff at Eggman, silently chuckling at his friend's lack of communication skills.

Without warning a laser beam came shooting towards the cliff edge, Sonic jumping away effortlessly as he landed gracefully next to Shadow. As if a cue by his lighter counterpart and just as quick, Shadow darted forwards and took out the robot that fired, destroying both the gun and its owner in a matter of seconds before returning to his place in front of Eggman.

Caught off guard, but not at all surprised, Eggman snapped his index finger and thumb together, indicating to the rest of his army that they were needed to attack. The robots started their charge, as the two hedgehog rivals stood, poised to counter the impending attack. Quicker than the eye could see, the fighting partners pounced on the incoming metallic fiends. A dark blur taking out all the soldiers, blue blur catching and comforting the tiny creatures that they rescued. Sonic looked at the container unit, taking only a moment to consider how many animals would be in there, before leaping forward with his trade-mark Sonic Spin and pressing down hard on the button atop.

Shadow was taking down Eggman's little pawns without breaking a sweat. Eggman looked around to find that all parts of his plan were being foiled. The container unit was broken and everyone inside released and his henchmen were getting vaporised. It was here that he decided to do what he usually did, make a hasty get away. Or as Sonic called it, running away scared.

Sonic freed the remaining animals and took them a safe distance away from the wreckage site, returning to help Shadow dispatch the rest of the robots. He came back just as Shadow threw one of the bots into the remaining two, causing an explosion to erupt. Sonic ducked behind a rock during the initial force and gazed back out to see Shadow emerging from the smoke. Eyeing the wreckage that had been left behind, Sonic contacted his best buddy Tails, who was living nearby, to ask him to take care of the robot parts. Shadow watched silently as Sonic did this, rolling his eyes when he heard an excited squeal when Sonic told Tails that he could have the robot parts.

"Have you quite finished faker?" he asked, annoyance blatant to his lighter counterpart.

"Sure, we can head back to headquarters,"

Sonic took off ahead of Shadow, knowing that his rival would understand his invitation to a speed race. Shadow chuckled slightly, a smirk on his face, racing off to catch-up, the speed of the pair caused the trees to dance a little more violently than they would like.

GUN, a federal organisation, was their destination. Shadow was a member, having been so since he left Eggman a few years prior. For Sonic the days were slow, so when he got a call asking for some back-up for a few days he jumped at the chance. The commander was waiting for them outside, anticipating good news from the two.

They skidded to a halt just in front of him, Sonic finishing slightly ahead of Shadow. The commander listened as Sonic started to tease Shadow about losing his edge, the black hedgehog retaliating that Sonic had a head-start and that he had expelled more energy in their fight. A stern clearing of a throat brought the two out of their little 'fight' and attention on the superior in front of them.

The commander brought Shadow aside, asking the usual questions; how did it turn out, what happened, what damages were made? He answered the questions presented to him, stating that he would get a full report by the end of the day, and re-joined Sonic.

"So, what the commander want?" Sonic asked, hanging off a tree branch,

"What he always wants after a mission," came the reply, accompanied by a trade-mark scowl. He heard a chuckle emanate from the tree as the owner leapt down. Shadow rolled his eyes, he was responsible for the overenthusiastic hedgehog while he was there. It wasn't that he wasn't trusted, but he was known to not fully understand some of the more complex machinery that he came across, Tails vouching for this. But keeping the hedgehog wrangled was hard, and a mission that Shadow did not like. Zoning out was the only thing he could do to stop from hitting his counterpart, all the positivity and spirit was too much for Shadow to bear.

He finally started to pay attention when he felt a hand rest atop his shoulder.

"Shadow," he heard being said. Turning to face the voice he saw the look on Sonic's face, his emerald eyes brimming with a look of concern and worry.

"Your hurt," Sonic finished, gesturing to a deep cut that went unnoticed earlier on Shadow's side. It wasn't bleeding heavily, but still looked pretty nasty, Sonic knew that if it wasn't patched up it could get infected, but convincing Shadow to seek medical treatment wasn't easy.

"It's nothing,"

Sonic frowned, "I've seen nothing, that is not nothing," Shadow scowled at him,

"You want to be taken off active duty?"

Without answering Shadow stood up, glared one more time and stared to make his way to the Medical wing, Sonic not far behind.

GUN was a big place and had many people enlisted, the dangerous missions often needed the assistance of medical personnel. The medical wing consisted of many parts; a few hospital rooms where patients rested, each large room with about six or seven beds in, a storage room full of supplies and an office for the person in charge. Upon entering the office the two hedgehogs came face to face with the girl in charge. A sixteen-year-old black and white cat, who was a medical genius. Her mother was known for her healing wonders, the ability she passed down to her devoted daughter. She had a sleek build with chocolate brown eyes, carefully dressed in a pristine white dress that reached her ankles.

"Hey guys, what can I do for you?" she asked, a caring, American accent rich in her voice, Shadow was still scowling so Sonic decided to speak up for him,

"Shadow got hurt earlier,"

"Ah I see," Carlie noticed the cut on Shadow's side. She went over to her cabinet and got out some fresh cloth and a bottle of clear liquid. "Please sit," nodding at the bed nearest to Shadow. He obliged, albeit reluctantly and Sonic sat on one opposite him. Carlie pressed the cloth against the bottle opening and tipped it so the clear liquid spilled out onto the cloth.

"This will sting a little," she warned, before pressing the cloth over the cut. Shadow flinched, grimacing slightly at the pain. Sonic saw he was trying to hide it, but he knew how much that liquid could sting, having to have it applied to wounds he'd sustained a few times. He met Shadow's eyes and gave a sympathetic look with a small smile, which Shadow acknowledged and seemed to appreciate. Carlie was as gentle as she could be; her touch was soft and caring. One hand pressed to the wound and the other stroking his opposite shoulder. She dabbed at the cut with the cloth and then put it on the bedside table. Sonic got up and went to the cabinet to get a bandage for Carlie, giving it to her to wrap around Shadow's middle. After tying it off at the end she went over to her desk to get something, while Sonic helped Shadow off the bed. She took out a small bottle with some pills in and handed them to Shadow,

"Take two ever few hours to help with the pain,"

Shadow nodded and went to the door. Carlie couldn't help but chuckle as she watched him leave; Sonic gave her a warm smile to compensate the lack of thanks from his friend.

Shaking her head and picking up the cloth she used to clean up the cut, Carlie went to her office. The cloth had a bit of blood on it and since Shadow hadn't been entered into the DNA database, Carlie thought it was about time he was.

She soon left, thinking she'd entered it, to sort out some more patients that had been recently submitted, not realising that she had pressed the search button on the database rather than the enter.

She returned to it a few hours later after hearing the incessant beeping noise that came from her computer. She gazed at the screen, eyes wide and mouth gaped. Never realising that instead of submitting the blood to the database, she ran it through it, trying to find a match against the files currently on there. When she realised this she just assumed that there would be no match, after all he wasn't on the system, at least not to her knowledge. But upon returning to the computer she found that it wasn't a No Match beep. It was a partial match beep.

Carlie was stunned for words, how on earth could there be a partial match to Shadow. To their knowledge Shadow was artificially made by Eggman's grandfather Gerald Robotnik, using the alien Black Doom's blood. Unless someone from the present day had somehow magically been born fifty years ago, it just wasn't feasible. Yet somehow this was the reading she was getting.

'_There must be something wrong with the system again'_ she thought, but upon running a diagnostic she found that there was nothing with her system, or any system in the building for that matter. She may have been a medical officer, but that didn't mean she knew nothing about the computers she had control over.

Eventually she found the courage to click on the button that would pull up the file of the person who apparently had a partial match to her hedgehog friend. The file was pulled and she found herself face to face with that person. Person being the relative word, in fact it wasn't one of their human agents, or any human personnel. For that she was thankful, it just would have been too weird. No their database had the files of many animals in their domain, including some from around the planet. Animals who they knew would be useful to have on their systems for whatever reason. This particular animal was not on their database for anything bad, on the contrary, this animal was an extremely good asset to their planet. That animal was a hedgehog.

Carlie had to look twice before it finally settled in. It shouldn't have shocked her. After all, when Shadow first arrived it took everyone the better part of a few months before they could successfully figure out who was who. But it did. It shocked her. And she didn't know what to do. Sure she was close to Shadow, close than the majority of the people at the GUN headquarters. She could tell him right?

But how could she? How could she tell him something that was supposed to be impossible? And how would she bring the other party into the equation? The answer; she would have to tell them both at the same time. She also had to let the commander know, but he was not her priority. Right now she had to find the dark hedgehog to tell him the news, along with his lighter counterpart, both of whom she knew would not take this lightly.

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**And Chapter ends here, yeah I love doing this :D Sooo I haven't actually stated anything specific yet, but I'm sure ya'll can figure out what is happening here, don't take Tails to do it right? :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well here is the second chapter, I hope you all like it and let me know what it is you think :D All is revealed! Well maybe not all, and there will be some questions at the end, but what the hey!**

**Oh and Shout out to ****Ryoshiro who is the first follower of this story thank you very much, hope to get more :D**

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Scouring the entire headquarters was not easy for her. Shadow was very predictable when it came to where he was, usually the gym or out in the yard where he would practise his skills with his fellow teammates. When Sonic came that stopped. Shadow was responsible for him, which often lead to them being in places Shadow usually wasn't. Today however, Carlie got a break in the form of a certain kid prodigy. Hope Kintobor was the mechanical genius of the place, someone who Carlie was extremely close too, both of them being pretty young.

"Hey Hope, have you seen Sonic and Shadow?"

"Yeah, I saw them heading towards the little hiding spot we found, you know the one," and boy did Carlie know it. When they first arrived at this huge building, both of them were inexplicably drawn to this spot the two hedgehogs now currently resided in. Thanking her friend, Carlie made her way through the corridors and into a secret passageway. Upon reaching the end she was greeted by the light of the day, pleasantly surprised by the sun that shone in the sky, warming her skin as she emerged from the tiny entrance. She saw Sonic sitting on the edge, legs hanging over the side, which didn't surprise her at all; this was like the blue hedgehog. Shadow was standing up, leaning his shoulder against the rocks that made the edge of this made-shift balcony, careful not to let his bandaged side touch the sharp edges.

Gently clearing her throat to get their attention, she gradually made her way to sit next to Sonic on the ledge. Eyes fixated on her, now was definitely the best time to get it out the way with. "Something wrong Carlie?" Sonic asked, his head slightly cocked to the side. Carlie couldn't help but giggle at this action, but quickly recovered herself as she started to tell the tale.

"Well I was putting Shadow's DNA into the system and I came across a little snag," she explained. Both hedgehogs looked at her in confusion, but Shadow soon turned away, not really interested in whatever technical issues she was about to tell them. Sonic would have shared this sentiment, but he didn't want to be rude to her.

"What kind of snag?"

"Well, I told the data to search through the database rather than entering it,"

"And?"

"Erm, it kinda came up with a match," here Shadow started to take an interest, coming out of his thoughts and turning to face Carlie.  
"What's wrong with that, isn't that what it's supposed to do?" Sonic asked, completely unaware of the situation,  
"I thought you said that I hadn't been entered in the system yet,"

"Yeah you haven't,"

"Then how is that possible?" a frown was etched on the tan muzzle and narrowed eyes were coming from the dark hedgehog with the question,

"It isn't, but I still got a match; a partial match,"

"Partial?" Sonic asked, brow furrowed in confusion.

"Yeah, meaning half of your DNA matches someone else's, like with a child and their parents,"

By now she had both of the hedgehog's full attention, and when she turned to look at Shadow, she could see the look of shock and possibly disgust on his face. Sonic however, was genuinely surprised in that someone shared the same, or at least similar, blood to the ultimate life-form.

Rubbing the back of her neck with her hand, Carlie struggled to get her words out straight.

"Are you going to tell me who the match was to?"

After a deep breath, she looked Shadow straight in the eyes and said, "Sonic," and that was all she needed to say. Shadow's eyes widened at the news, stepping back slightly. Sonic looked equally as shocked, but then a look of confusion soon replaced this.

"Wait, how am I in the system?"

Now it was Carlie's turn to widen her eyes. "Well.. erm..." she started,

"When the Doctor cornered you and an experimental robot exploded," Shadow finished for her, not sharing her sheepish feelings or having the patience for anything at the moment.

"Oh I remember, yeah I got knocked into a cliff-face,"

"Precisely,"

Carlie watched as Shadow explained what she wanted to say, and cleverly took the moment to try and sneak away from them, not wanting to make things anymore awkward than they already were. Shadow noticed and was about to say something when he felt a hand on his arm. Turning around he saw Sonic, shaking his head, so Shadow left it for now.

"I don't believe this," Shadow growled, pacing around the little balcony. He waited, expecting to hear some kind of witty comeback, a one-liner, anything really. He stopped pacing when he realised that Sonic had said nothing yet. Since when was he not talkative? Shadow carefully walked over to Sonic, seeing a far-away look in the lighter hedgehog's eyes. He shook Sonic's shoulder gently, trying to get a response; after all it was too weird not too. He might have asked for him to be quiet, but never once had he ever responded in the asked way. Sonic soon snapped out of it though, turning to face the older hedgehog, "What's up?" he asked,

"You're being quiet,"

"Isn't that usually something you want?" a smirk found its way onto Sonic's muzzle,

"And there is the banter that I cannot seem to rid myself of,"

Sonic chuckled and paused before looking up at Shadow from the ledge. "Shadow, do you think it's a computer glitch?"

Shadow watched as Sonic swung his legs back onto solid ground, sitting with them lying to his side. He was curious, and Shadow knew that. But the darker hedgehog couldn't miss the look of compassion in the other's soft, caring eyes. Sonic knew how much talking about the past affected Shadow, but he wanted an answer, and not just to the question he had just asked.

"It has to be, you were not there when I was created,"

Sonic gave a nod to acknowledge this, before gazing his look upon the entrance.

"We should probably get going, Carlie's probably told The Commander by now," Shadow said, after seeing Sonic looking at the entrance, "Unless she doesn't quite know how to," Sonic replied. The pair stood and took their leave, straight to the main command centre.

Carlie arrived before them, finding the person she knew she needed to see. The Commander was overseeing one of their latest operations, giving commands to the computer techs in the hall below his viewing box. There was a sheet of glass covering the walls of the box that allowed him to see them. Sitting in his rather large chair that he used, only to be used by another if he was important enough, The Commander of GUN was barking orders left and right to the timid workers below. Everything needed to go off without a hitch, and he was the one to make sure that this happened.

Walking slowly towards him, Carlie cleared her throat to get the Commander's attention. He turned slightly and nodded to acknowledge her presence, but returned to the others and shouted another order. After doing so, he pressed a button on his chair and it turned itself to face the cat.

"What can I do for you Carlie?"

"Well sir, you see I had Shadow come into my wing and he was hurt and I got some of his blood," she started, speaking rather fast and mumbling slightly,

"Get to the point girl!" The Commander said, massaging his temples whilst trying not to shout. Carlie jumped slightly, but continued, "I accidently ran Shadow's blood through the database and it came up with a match,"

"A match?"

"Well a partial one,"

"That's impossible, you know that he hasn't been entered in the database yet, it's just a computer glitch," he said, standing up and waving the back of his hand

"I'm afraid it isn't sir, I ran a diagnostic,"

The Commander was at a loss for words; he started rubbing his chin and looked down at the floor before returning his gaze to the small cat and speaking up.

"Who is it?"

"Pardon?"

"Who did Shadow have a partial match to?"

Carlie was about to reply when the two hedgehogs came in. Sonic knocked on the door lightly, while Shadow just walked in, standing next to the Commander and saluting. Sonic made his way next to Carlie and gave a quick wave.

"Ah Shadow, I assume he has been informed," Carlie nodded meekly

"Now, an answer would be nice," the two hedgehogs looked at each other in confusion, before the lighter one realised that Carlie had yet to tell the Commander who the match was too.

"An answer?" Shadow asked

"Yes!" The Commander barked impatiently, "Who matches my agent?!"

Sonic looked at Carlie, who could only gaze back, eyes full of anxiousness. He walked forward a few steps slowly, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand and slightly raising the other when he said, "Me,"

The Commander all but fell back into his chair. Shadow watched as the Commander turned away from the rest, seeing the mix of shock, horror and disgust on his face. He knew how angry and aggressive the Commander could be and silently hoped that he wouldn't take it out now.

Sonic looked back at Carlie and smiled warmly, she returned with a small one of her own, briefly meeting his eyes. She held her breath when she saw the Commander's hands balled into fists and tried to hide her fright when he turned around. Sonic even saw Shadow with a half worried look on his face.

"You?" his voice was dripping with a feel of disgust and Sonic could tell, while it hurt a little he kept his face clear of fright, free of emotion, and kept looking at the human straight in the eyes.

"Yes. Me,"

The Commander turned away again and waved the back of his hand. Shadow and Carlie knew this meant leave and they went to do as asked. Sonic stayed put. He caught Shadow's gaze and watched as the darker hedgehog shook his head and sent a knowing look. Carlie took his arm and pulled it gently, to which the hedgehog obeyed.

Leaving the Commander, Carlie said goodbye to the two hedgehogs as she made her way back to her medical wing. The pair headed outside, wanting to take a stroll around the grounds of the headquarters, finding their way to the tree they were at earlier.

Sonic saw the look in Shadow's eyes, he was having trouble processing what he had been told. He thought he was special and no-one could compare to him. In truth that was right, Sonic couldn't match the level of power that Shadow could, not that he would admit it. He wanted to comfort Shadow, he really did, but didn't quite know what to say. What do you say to someone who shares a part of you?

Whilst Sonic was trying to express concern, Shadow on the other hand was fuming. How could he share DNA with the blue hedgehog, the faker? It was embarrassing to say the least. Shadow stole a look at Sonic when he was wrapped in thoughts of his own and saw how he felt. Still even the kindest, most caring look in the world could not make Shadow consider this a good thing, and that look could not be given by the hero now in his presence. Only one person had ever had that effect on Shadow and she was no longer around.

Seeing that Shadow was preoccupied in his thoughts and didn't seem to be paying any heed to Sonic, the lighter hedgehog decided to spend the time a better way than brooding. Standing up and stretching, leaning backwards slightly with his hands at the small of his back and tensing the muscles in his legs; Sonic flexed his hands before jumping up to a branch on the tree the pair were situated at. Shadow took little notice when Sonic stood up, but glanced upwards slightly when he felt the presence of the hedgehog disappear. Sonic continued climbing it, using his arms to find his way upwards until he reached the top. Shadow couldn't help but wonder why on earth Sonic was climbing a tree. It was a childish action, one that Shadow had questioned before, but the answer he was presented with was not what he wanted to hear. Looking down, Sonic saw the confusion on the older hedgehog's face and smirked, for once he knew something the ultimate life form did not.

"Why don't you come up and take a look for yourself," he called down, only to get a scoff and crinkled snout. This was the answer he always received, it was puzzling, but Shadow refused to follow the hero in his childish ways.

"Suit yourself," he heard. The older hedgehog took to pacing around the tree, lost in thought, until he heard a familiar noise coming from his person. His watch was beeping, which meant someone was calling him. He looked at the ID and relaxed, knowing it was someone he trusted.

"What do you want?"

"Ooh, that's not a nice way to greet your teammate,"

"I don't have time for this, what do you want,"

"No need to get all huffy with me darling I was just checking up on you,"

"I'm fine, was that it?"

"My, my, we are in a rush, heard about what happened,"

"The fight was nothing, the Doctor is,"

"I didn't mean the fight, I meant the DNA match with big blue there,"

Shadow looked up to see that Sonic was still at the top of the tree, in view of his watch. He didn't say anything for a while, nor did he meet the caller's eyes.

"Shadow?" he heard

"Yes?" by now, the darker hedgehog was getting frustrated, pretty soon everyone in the agency would know.

"Don't take it out on him," Shadow scoffed again, rolling his eyes at his friend,

"Bye Rouge," he said, hanging up before she had a chance to argue or answer.

Sonic looked down from his current position, perched on top of one of the high branches. He had listened to the conversation between the two. Why he didn't know, either it was because they were talking loud enough for Eggman to hear, or it was just too quiet around there. He swung his legs down over the branch, peering at Shadow, who didn't really seem to be paying attention. Jumping down swiftly and landing with a soft lump on the grass, he brought Shadow out of his brooding and attention back on himself.

"Why do you insist on taking part in such childish actions?" the black hedgehog asked, but quickly regretted when he was met with his reflection's trademark smirk.

"I've told you, you gotta see to know that Shads," was the reply,

"And I didn't think you held enough intelligence to be cryptic,"

Shadow turned his back to the blue hedgehog, and failed to miss blue ears droop slightly and a frown replace a smirk. That hurt Sonic. He knew that he wasn't as smart as some of the others, especially compared to his two-tailed fox Tails, but he could have his moments.

"So, you think we taught Eggman a lesson?" he asked, trying to divert the subject to anything else.

Shadow raised his brow and shook his head slightly before answering, "Yes, the doctor should know to stay away from those woodland creatures,"

Sonic nodded, but couldn't find anything else to say.

They stood there in silence for a while before a second beeping sound got their attention. Shadow looked down again, and identified the caller again. This time it was the Commander.

"Yes, sir,"

"Ah Shadow, Dr. Eggman is attacking downtown Metropolis with some kind of machine, we need you to get on it,"

"Right away, sir,"

"Oh and Hope did a scan of the area and there was a reading of Chaos energy, so either there is a chaos emerald in the vicinity or,"

"Or the doctor's machine is being powered by one,"

"Exactly, I trust that you will be able to manage, and I would appreciate it if damages were kept to a minimum,"

"I understand, sir,"

With that the Commander hung up and left all to his best agent. Shadow turned around to find that Sonic was running on the spot, no doubt warming up for a fight. He caught the smirk on his face and, with one on his own, sped off without warning.

"Hey!" Sonic called, speeding off after the dark blur and Sonic could swear that he could hear a chuckle coming from it.

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**Yeah I just had to add that little bit of payback for Shadow! Well this is pretty much just the aftermath of the news and then some more! Another little cliffhanger, but its only small, only gotta wait and see how they handle the 'Ole Egghead :D**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three and I hope everyone is enjoying the story :D Time for a good fight with the Eggman! *Eggman theme tune plays* who will win? **

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Arriving in downtown Metropolis, the two hedgehogs were expecting something huge, from what the Commander had said, it was a real menace. They arrived, however, to Eggman in his usual Eggmobile, with a small cannon mounted atop. Shadow scoffed at the tiny thing, what was so terrifying about this. Sonic shared the sentiment, but noticed the looks of intense fear on the faces of the townspeople. Eggman was laughing at all the destruction that he had left in his wake, laughing until it turned into coughing. Sonic smirked and chuckled silently, Eggman was getting old and didn't realise it.

The two saw what he had left of part of the town; the buildings were levelled down and smoking from the impact of what they could only assume was some kind of high energy beam. The pavement had cracks and holes in it and there were various amount of ash scattered around the area. Everywhere in his wake was abandoned and the people were using cars, rocks and anything else that they could hide behind so they could get away from the maniac of a scientist. Sonic couldn't believe that such a small object could cause so much destruction. On the other hand Sonic was tiny compared to the robots that he usually faced and he usually left them as nothing more than a pile of rubble and metal parts.

Confident as ever and not at all deterred by the destruction, Sonic stepped closer towards the doctor, ready to fight whatever it was he would throw at him. Shadow joined his march, a few steps behind so that he could save the blue pest if they were caught off guard.

"So Egghead, what kinda party you got goin' on here," Sonic called, behind him, Shadow shook his head at his reflection.

"Why don't you stand right there and I'll show you," he replied, pressing a button on his control panel that made the mounted cannon rotate around until it was facing his enemy. Sonic turned his head slightly so that he could wink at Shadow, letting him know his plan. Shadow understood and stood his ground, while Sonic refaced the cannon. He watched it start to glow red at the nozzle as it charged up and then fired a large red beam towards them. Sonic was standing there, tapping his foot while it charged and didn't move when the beam was fired either. It hit the aimed spot and a smoke cloud was thrown up towards the sky. Eggman cheered as the smoke cleared to fine nothing there,

"Looks like I finally finished the job," he said, guffawing as he rejoiced, "Now are you going to stand in my way?"

Shadow said nothing, folded his arms and stayed where he was. Eggman frowned, but soon smiled again. He was all too happy to take care of another bothersome hedgehog.

A whistle took the attention backwards to the debris, where a certain blue hedgehog was waiting for them. There he stood, his usual cocky self, with not a scratch.

Eggman cursed under his breath, but refrained from getting angry, that wouldn't help. Instead he turned his attention to the rest of the town that he had yet to level. He hovered forwards and started firing missiles from his vehicle, scattering them everywhere. Sonic glanced at Shadow, who was already making his way towards Eggman's little ship, claiming him for himself. Without a second thought, Sonic dashed all around the area grabbing the missiles before they could hit anything or anyone. He gathered up all six missiles that he had thrown at the city and took them up the side of a tall building before throwing them with all the strength he had in order to make them explode above the city rather than on it.

Shadow was currently dodging the machine gun bullets that the doctor had installed on his craft, though he was not even breaking a sweat. The machine guns fired rapidly, but nothing seems to be hitting nor slowing down the dark hedgehog. Eggman growled in frustration, he had had enough of this. Letting the machine distract Shadow for now, Eggman looked around to try and form a plan of action. He saw Sonic was evacuating the citizens and a large smirk found its way onto his lips. Dispatching a mobile robot to further distract the black hedgehog, Eggman made his way over to an abandoned shop, placing his machine behind a few of the stalls outside. There he waited for the cannon to charge again, while watching the nuisance round up some children. Glancing down at the controls he saw that the cannon was almost fully charged, but that would do. Sneaking away from his cover, he aimed the cannon with deadly accuracy at his target and within a few seconds fired the beam.

Sonic was too distracted to realise what was coming, his back was turned and he was trying to comfort the children currently in his care. Shadow however, did see what was happening. He quickly dodged the latest fire spewing from the mobile machine and delivered a swift kick to put its guns out of commission, rendering it practically useless. Using his skates to propel himself forward, the dark hedgehog sped towards the scene, yelling the word 'Move' to Sonic in an effort to get him to safety. Sonic heard what was said, but was more concerned with the children around him. Acting on instinct, he pushed the three children away to the side and from himself, into the arms of adults nearby. He did not have time to get himself out of the way, and there were people behind running to safety, if he jumped or dodged then they would get hit.

Shadow was still running towards the scene and, in less than a second, sent a burst of wind towards the site, using his body to create the force. The wind struck the remaining pedestrians, blowing them away from the blue hedgehog. Shadow continued to move forwards, precious seconds passing at such a slow pace compared to the dark hedgehog. Before the eye could blink, Shadow tackled the younger hedgehog to the ground, a few feet away from the intended site of destruction. The doctor growled as he watched the feat, planned and executed in mere nano-seconds.

Sonic hit his head on the ground when Shadow tackled him, so feeling a bit dazed he lifted his head slightly to see that he was lying on his stomach, facing some of the still standing buildings. He felt something heavy on top of him, but whatever it was, it held him down. Something gently pushed his head down again, recognising the voice of the dark hedgehog as it spoke.

"Take it easy Sonic," was whispered,

The azure hedgehog used his other senses to aid him; he could hear the crackling of the fire not too far away, and the frightened pants and whimpers from some of the passersby. He felt something warm on his forehead, near his ears. Using one of his hands that were spread out in front of him, he gingerly touched the spot and winced as pain shot up through his head. Bringing his hand back he saw the crimson on his glove.

Shadow got off the younger hedgehog, keeping a hand on his back as he did so, before removing it again to face the doctor fully. The look currently set on his face was all that was needed for the doctor to feel fear. He started charging at him, intent on making him pay for all that he had done.

Slowly, Sonic picked himself up, watching intently as his reflection handled the Egghead. He looked around, helping some of the pedestrians that either he had pushed away or Shadow had. He glanced back at Shadow, and seeing that he was really handling himself well, he took the opportunity to check that everyone was alright. Some had a few scrapes and bruises, but no-one was really injured that much. He wasn't either, only a small cut on his forehead where he hit his head on the cement. Giving the civilians a nod of encouragement, Sonic returned his attention to Eggman and Shadow. Giving the machine Eggman was in a swift kick to knock it off balance; he rejoined Shadow's side to fight once again. Eggman was standing on his last leg, most of his mobile machines were destroyed and his weapons were running out of ammunition. He kept firing, taking out several small shops as he did so. Shadow used the chaos energy within him, firing a powerful Chaos spear, uttering the same words to activate it. It landed with great accuracy at the dead centre of the Eggmobile.

Feeling his machine start to deteriorate around him, Eggman took the opportunity to start to flee.  
"Oh no you don't!" Shadow snarled, giving chase, with Sonic trailing not too far behind.

The two gave chase until they ended up in a dense forest. Missiles were being fired randomly and the two were using their abilities to dodge. Shadow was more to the point and used his power, often using his fists and feet, to break through the tough bark and keep mere inches away from the doctor. Sonic often had more flair than the older hedgehog , using his more honed agility and speed to bob and weave his way through the trees, sometimes using the trees themselves to jump from.

Finding a clearing to make things easier on his machine, Eggman brought his machine to a halt and pressed the charge button on his control panel. While he waited he started to use the machines defence system to keep the hedgehogs away from himself.

Sonic was trying to use his homing attack on the shield that was currently around the rotund scientist, but they had little effect. Shadow was making more progress with his Chaos Spear, but still the progress was slow.

Eggman was gloating manically as he watched the two scramble to get any kind of decent hit. He knew that the power source he had was stronger than any of their attacks. He stole a look at the control panel readings and saw that the cannon was fully charged, all that was needed now was to figure out a way to lure his target into a position where he could not escape. Using his final weapon, aside from the cannon, Eggman unleashed a pair of mechanical hands. Bawling them into fists, he swung at the two, paying extra attention to his target. He saw a group of trees that could act as a death trap if someone was caught in there. He used the mechanical hands to carefully manoeuvre his way around the clearing, the two were dodging and trying to attack at the same time. Though their hits did not seem to do much damage, the other party was not doing much better either. Sonic watched as the mechanical hands were not even trying to hit them, or so it seemed. Instead of landing on top of them, they seemed to land at the side of them. Eggman used his skill carefully, making his moves precise and making the most of his IQ of 300.

It wasn't until he saw his target dodge to the right to avoid the crashing impact of one of the hands, that he found himself cheering internally. He watched as the hedgehog squirmed and wriggled, trying to escape the grasp of the trees, but he was hopelessly tangled. Peering down momentarily to read the statistics of his craft, he realised that putting all the power behind this shot would make it stall and lose the rest of its power. But it was worth it. Letting an evil grin appear on his face, he glared at his target, as the dark hedgehog further tried to escape.

He fired the shot, allowing the cannon to drain the last of the power from his ship, and waited to hear the screams. Even he wasn't sure what the cannon would do to a person, as he'd only tried it out on buildings and other inanimate objects, but with so much power behind it he knew that he would get his revenge.

A scream was heard, along with a bright light that made him have to look away. When he turned to see what was going on he was shocked to see that Shadow was still there. The black hedgehog looked as dazed as he felt. Maybe it was the bright light. After recovering, he watched as Shadow managed to get loose his arms and pulled himself out of the tree entanglement.

Shadow looked blankly at Eggman, and then started to search around the clearing. He didn't pay much heed when he saw the doctor attempt the slip away unnoticed, he knew that without any power and machinery there was no real threat.

Many of the trees around were destroyed completely or had their trunks hit so they had fallen down. Shadow also noticed the absence, or at least shortage of, the wind that usually blew much stronger than what is was now. The grass was singed in places where some of the missiles had hit. However, there was no singed grass where the cannon was supposed to hit, nor were the trees harmed in any way.

Shadow made his way over to the spot. Using his hand to feel the air, Shadow determined that there was an abundance of Chaos Energy near here. Everything made sense now;

Hope sensing the chaos energy when they were dispatched.

The cannon destroying the buildings, almost disintegrating some of them.

Eggman was powering his machine with not one chaos emerald, but multiple, there was no telling how many he had in his ship.

For the second time that day, Shadow found that he was surrounded by silence. Where was the cocky blue hedgehog that he was fighting with? Wait a minute, the scream. It certainly wasn't his own. Looking everywhere around the clearing, there was no sign of the blue hedgehog.

'If there was a mass amount of chaos energy coming from the spot in front of me then the beam must have been pure chaos energy' Shadow thought, 'and if it wasn't me that cried out, and it wasn't Eggman, then' he groaned outwardly when he realised what that meant. That stupid hedgehog had taken the hit for him when he was tangled up.

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***Gasp* What has happened to Sonic? What will Shadow do? When will the author stop asking herself questions? **

**Mystery! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**Helloo Fanfiction users! Here is chapter four of the story, and this is the longest chapter I believe. I finally got to the point in the story where the story is actually in Space Colony Ark, which was what it was supposed to be in the first place, but I got carried away with the build up. Anyway, I guess you find guess who you will see in this chapter ;) Enjoy :D**

**Oh Special shout-out to raeweis who posted the first review for this story!**

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Everything was hurting. The pain was unbearable, but he knew he had to help his friend. He had no idea what he was getting himself into, after all Eggman could be unpredictable with what he invented sometimes, but what did it matter? Shadow would be safe and able to get Eggman.

As soon as Sonic saw Shadow in the trap, he knew what Eggman was planning. When the cannon fired, everything seemed to move in slow motion. Within the few seconds it took to almost reach the tree trap, Sonic had ran forward and stepped in front of his friend. Then the beam hit.

The pain was excruciating, but it felt familiar. Chaos energy could be used in many ways, but he usually absorbed it anyway. This time, there was too much of it to absorb, so he just had to take it. On the bright side, everything only lasted a few minutes, though it seems like hours. After that he blacked out, as a bright light engulfed his body.

Elsewhere, a young, human girl was walking through the corridors of her home, minding her own business. Her golden hair flowed beautifully just past her shoulders, bobbing up and down as she skipped down her path.

'I wonder what Grandfather wants to tell me' she thought, she was looking forward to it, after all he was the nicest grandfather anyone could ask for. It was nice that she had someone at home, even if he did tend to work himself too much. She longed for a friend that could keep her company on those long days and nights she endured here.

On her way she passed many windows that gave her a wondrous view of outside. Taking a moment to glance outside, she admired the amount of stars that surrounded her before looking longingly at the one place she wished she could visit; Earth.

The young girl continued her wanderings, letting her feet take her where they wanted to go, when suddenly a bright light filled the corridor, forcing her to shield her dark blue eyes. When the light subsided she found herself looking at the body of a blue hedgehog. It was lying on its stomach, facing sideways, but its head was lolled slightly in her direction. The look on its face was pain and her first reaction was to help it.

She crouched down on her knees, allowing her light blue dress to slide up her legs slightly. Resting her body squarely on her legs she carefully and gently shook the hedgehog to see if it would wake up. When she got no response she placed her hands underneath its stomach and tenderly rolled the poor hedgehog on its back. She watched as it moved its head slightly, bringing hope to the girl as she knew it was alive. Inching forward slowly, careful not to frighten the creature, she gingerly lifted its head to rest on her lap. After hearing a low moan emitting from it, she determined that it was in fact a male.

The hedgehog started to stir some more, pressing his head further into her hands. He heard the comforting sound of someone saying "Shhh" repeatedly, so he kept his body and spines relaxed, not that he had much strength in them anyway. He could feel a hand making small, circular movements on his stomach, making him feel safe.

The sound of footsteps coming down the corridor rung throughout it, picking up speed until it finally stopped short of the girl's current position. She looked up and the soft smile adorned on her face lit up even more as she saw the very person who she wanted to.

"Maria, there you are,"

Dr. Gerald Robotnik had been looking for his granddaughter, anxious to tell her some good news about his project.

"Grandfather!"

"What do we have here?" the man asked, kneeling forwards as well,

"I am not sure, I was coming to see you, when a bright light appeared and when I looked back he was on the floor," she explained, meeting her grandfather's eyes, but never ceasing her comforting movements on the hedgehog in her care.

"Hmm," was all the elder could say. Placing a hand on the creature's forehead, he found that it was slightly warm and noticed the small cut near its left ear. Another moan was heard and he looked at the young girl before saying, "We should get him to my lab,"

"Wait, take him to my room, he will be more comfortable there,"

The man nodded, squatting next to his granddaughter so he could take the creature from her. Gently he slid one of his hands underneath its head and another under the back of its knees, so he could carry the poor creature properly.

The hedgehog again started to move some more, instinct taking over since he was defenceless. He tried lifting his fawn coloured arms that were currently forced against his body by something but whatever was holding him strengthened its grip when he moved. "Easy does it, I won't hurt you," was what he heard. It was whispered right next to his ear, telling him that whoever it was, was definitely human, since there were not many on his world that could hold him properly and still be bigger than him. He learnt that the hard way when Eggman captured him once and held him similarly to how he was now. He felt another sensation on his cheek, as the same tender hand started to stroke it reassuringly. He tried opening his eyes, but they felt too heavy, so instead he leaned his head properly on the shoulder of the person carrying him, relaxing the rest of his body completely.

Gerald and Maria walked to the girl's room, where she entered first and lifted the end of her violet quilt, allowing her guest to lie comfortably. Gerald put the blue hedgehog down, making sure to support his head, until Maria pulled the quilt up over his shoulders. Gerald left the room briefly, returning with a green box marked with a red cross. While he was doing so, Maria went to her bathroom and got a flannel, wetting it under the tap, using it to wipe the small cut that they saw on the hedgehog's forehead. She heard and felt him wince under the touch, but she kept cleaning the wound. When her grandfather returned, he put a small adhesive bandage over the top to help it heal.

Sonic was just starting to come round properly. He felt groggy and disorientated, wondering where on earth he was. 'Well at least there are friendly people around' he thought. He tried opening his eyes again, but it was slow. When he peered out the first time he was met with a bright light that forced them shut again. The bed he was in was definitely better than the corridor, it was soft on his back and the pillow was on his head. Boy did he have a headache! All he wanted to do was curl up in the softness and rest, but since he was a place he did not know, that was probably not a good idea. He had already let his guard down enough when he let the man carry him from the corridor. Successful in seeing his surroundings he watched as an elderly man walked to the other side of the room. Turning his head again, he saw the girl who had found him. She looked familiar, like he'd seen her. Or maybe heard about her? She was saying something, but he wasn't really paying attention to what it was, she wasn't talking to him anyway. She was perched on the edge of the bed, like she was frightened to hurt him if she got too close. He smiled weakly at the thought.

"You know I'm not that fragile," he said, it was probably more like a whisper to her, but to Sonic that was about as loud as he could get at the moment.

She looked shocked when she heard him, though Sonic didn't know if this was from him talking or what he'd said. Frankly he hoped it was the former. To his own shock, she returned to smile and said, "Well you can never be too careful when you find someone lying unconscious on the floor,"

Sonic chuckled lightly, "Touché,"

"Grandfather he's awake,"

Sonic saw the man return to his bedside, a stethoscope around his neck and a soft smile on his face. Maria withdrew the quilt slightly and the man took the round part of the stethoscope and placed it on his chest. Sonic knew what he wanted him to do, taking several deep breaths; he needed them anyway to wake himself up.

"Erm, Where am I?" Sonic asked, using his arms to prop himself up some more, leaning his back on the pillow and shifting so the quilt slid to just above his knees,  
"You do not know?" the man asked, Sonic shook his head,

"This is a scientific facility called Space Colony Ark,"

Sonic's eyes widened in shock, how on earth could he be on Space Colony Ark again? Wait, a minute, if this was the Ark then why were there people on board, it had been shut down for ages. Unless.

Sonic looked at the young girl again, there was something about her.

When Shadow had been injured once, Sonic's house was nearer than GUN, so he'd helped him out. When Sonic was bandaging the wounds, Shadow told him about his time on the Ark, albeit reluctantly.

Sonic knew who this girl was. "Maria?" he asked, it was mostly to himself, but it was loud enough for them to hear.

Gerald all but recoiled from the bedside, the same though running through his mind; 'How on earth does he know Maria's name?'

Maria seemed to be thinking the same thing, but she kept her surprise hidden and used this as an opening to engage in conversation with the hedgehog.

"Yes that is my name, how is it you can to know me?"

"Oh... My erm... Friend told me about you," Maria nodded in response and looked up at Gerald, who seemed to have a few questions of his own.

"How is it you came on here, there have been no ships coming here recently,"

"I'm not too sure, I was," Sonic started, before realizing he needed to disguise a few things, "I was just minding my own business and I got hit with some kind of beam,"

Gerald didn't look like he believed him entirely, but Sonic couldn't exactly tell him the entire truth. "Do you know what kind of beam it was?"

"I'm no expert on technology, but I know that it was Chaos Energy,"

The intrigued look returned on the scientist face, he had one hand under his chin and another resting on his waist. He turned away from Sonic while he was thinking.

'Chaos Energy eh?' he thought, 'If I remember correctly there was something to do with chaos energy on that tapestry on the floating island,' leaving the room briefly to go and get some note books from his lab. 'Yes here it is, and the creature seems to resemble some kind of hedgehog' He closed the book with a loud thud, catching the attention of the other two in the room.

When he turned around Sonic could see that he had a sort of smirk on his face, one that reminded him uneasily of Eggman.

"Do you know much about the Chaos Emeralds?"

"You bet,"

"Can you control them?"

Sonic paused before answering, not quite sure what to say, "Yeeahh," he said hesitantly,

Gerald seemed to almost jump with glee; his face was a picture to behold. He sat down on the side of the bed next to Sonic, sitting down a bit too quickly and causing Sonic to move sideways slightly to avoid being crushed. He opened to book again, all but shoving one of the pages in Sonic's face.

"Have you seen this before?"

Sonic looked at the page properly, after Maria pushed her grandfather's arm away, seeing drawing on the page. It was incredibly detailed; whoever drew it must have spent a long time, making sure to get every detail right. It depicted some kind of machine, with a large glowing emerald in its grasp, opposite was a creature that looked a bit like a hedgehog, surrounded by a glow of its own. The scene wasn't in colour, since it was a sketch, but Sonic was sure that if it was, then it would be beautiful. The scene itself was familiar.

"Where did you get this?"

"I did the sketch during my old visit to the floating island,"

"The tapestry in one of the caves?"

"Yes,"

"Yeah I've seen that before," Sonic paused for a few seconds before adding, "I think I've lived that before,"

Sonic quickly realized what he'd said; putting his hand over his mouth, but Gerald had already heard enough.

"You are the controller in the tapestry?"

Sonic knew he couldn't exactly deny it now, so he just nodded slightly to confirm the doctor's suspicions. Gerald got up from the bed and started pacing around the room. The action made Sonic want to stretch his legs too; he'd been sitting down for way too long. He slid his legs from under the quilt and saw Maria stand up as well. Nodding at her as a sign of thanks, Sonic jumped down off the bed, stumbling slightly at the sudden weight on them. Maria put a hand behind his back to keep him upright for a few seconds while he got his balance.

"Thanks," he said, walking away from her so that he could face her properly.

"It's alright," she replied, she walked over to her grandfather who was currently staring at the note book intensely. She slipped her arm in his, bringing him out of his trance-like state.

"Come," he said, motioning to the door, Sonic nodded and followed him out. He took one last look at the room; it was exactly as Shadow described it. It was a girly room to be sure, with pink and violet as a colour scheme. Several pieces of furniture scattered around the room, there was a bed, a chest of drawers, a vanity table and various other items around. It looked like a small room, but there was plenty of space.

They started walking up the corridor again. Sonic wasn't really sure where they were going, after all he hadn't exactly spent that much time exploring the place. Gerald saw this and gently put a hand behind his back to guide him into a room not far from where there were.

They ended up in the lab. Sonic looked around, seeing lots of machinery along with one very familiar pod in the very centre. He became very curious and wandered over to it. Using his hand to rub away what he thought was ice, Sonic saw a black hedgehog with red markings on his fur, hover skates, rings around its wrists and ankles and tan skin. 'Shadow' he thought, Gerald came over and started explaining things.

"He isn't quite finished yet, there is still a few things that need to be added,"

"Well I'm sure he'll turn out great," he frowned slightly, knowing that they would never know how much Shadow would do for the planet they so longed to go to.

"Thank you,"

Sonic started wandering around the lab, trying to find any information about Project Shadow to see if he could tell his friend something that he would not be able to find out otherwise. Maria watched their guest, glad to have someone aboard apart from the usual people.

Sonic found a weird piece of machinery and stared at it for w while. It was a circular shape, but he had no clue as to its function. There was something pretty at the top, a diamond shaped object of some sort, but when he reached out to touch it, part of the circular structure was revealed to be pretty sharp.

"Argh," Sonic pulled his arm back down immediately.

"Are you alright?" Maria asked, she and Gerald went over to him. Gerald took one look at the cut and, after a brief second of thought, practically ran to get a vial and tweezers. He crouched down to Sonic's level and roughly pressed the tweezers across the wound, causing Sonic to tense up in pain. Blood ran freely across his arm and into the vial, filling it only quarterly.

"I apologize for the pain; I had to make sure that there wasn't anything minute stuck in your arm,"

"No problemo," though he was grimacing in pain. Gerald put a cloth over the top to help it stop bleeding, and a troubled look covered his face.

"I'm not sure if this had any chemicals over it," he said, Maria looked shocked,

"How can you tell?"

"Well if I had a better sample, I should be able to give you the all clear," Gerald said, turning to Sonic. Sonic knew what he meant by sample and shook his head stating, "I should be fine," he removed the cloth briefly and saw that blood was still flowing from the wound, it looked pretty deep. Gerald was still holding the vial underneath the fawn-turning-crimson arm; right now it was almost half full, much to his delight.

"It doesn't look like it's stopping," Maria said, she got up and went to get some cleaner cloths. Sonic kept the red cloth he had pressed against his arm and Maria soon returned with fresh ones. After a few minutes it seemed that the flow was slowing down, until it came to a stop. Gerald frowned slightly, but upon looking at the vial in his hand he perked up; there was enough in there for him.

"Sorry about that, I'm not usually this accident-prone," Sonic commented, rubbing the back of his neck with his uninjured arm.

"It's no trouble," Gerald reassured,

"Still I didn't damage your machine did I?"

"No you've done nothing wrong at all," 'Quite the opposite in fact' he added internally.

Gerald walked over to the pod, placing the vial on a stand behind it, when alarms suddenly went off. Sonic was completely lost as to why they were going off, but the scared look on Maria's face was enough to tell him that something was wrong.

"What's going on?"

"Black Doom, he's here,"

Sonic recoiled, he couldn't let Black Doom see him, otherwise he might recognize him in the future.

He looked around frantically for somewhere to hide, finding some large crates to duck down behind. 'Great, what am I gonna do if old' Doomy finds me?' he thought, 'I need to get back to my time and fast'

He heard Gerald start talking to someone, most likely Black Doom himself. 'Doesn't look like I've got much choice'

Sonic didn't really like using Chaos Energy unless it was absolutely necessary, that was more Shadow's thing. He didn't like it even more when he didn't have a Chaos Emerald, that meant he would have to tap into his connection with the power that he had absorbed throughout the years, which although was a very large amount, was still draining. He focused his thoughts on the energy within and felt a power surge as the energy start to empower him. Quietly as he could he said the words 'Chaos Control' to transport himself home, praying that he would end up in the right place. In a flash of bright light, he was gone.

Gerald watched as Black Doom investigated the sudden flash of light and prayed that he wouldn't find his little blue hedgehog. Seeing that the alien found nothing he proceeded to ask him to leave, stating that he was distracting him from his work and to return in a few days to help him finish Project Shadow. When he was gone, he called for Maria over the intercom, her having left before the alien came. He hugged her, reassuring her that the bad alien was gone for a while.

Maria looked around for her friend, asking her grandfather where he was.

"There was a flash of light when Black Doom was here; I assume that was him going home,"

"I hope he's ok,"

Gerald put his arm around her, "I'm sure he's fine,"

He went over to the pod and produced the vial from behind, thankful that the alien had not seen it. "Now I can put some finishing touches on Shadow,"

"I thought you needed the alien to do that,"

"I do, but before he gets here I want to give Shadow something special,"

"And what would that be?"

"Something from the legend he is based upon,"

Maria smiled as she watched her grandfather working on Shadow, knowing that soon enough she would have another friend to keep her company and look after soon enough.

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**Annnndd finished Chapter! Yeah, Maria and Gerald, had to put them in. Black Doom too. I'll let you guys figure out what Gerald put in Shadow, but if you've read previous chapters and paid attention in this one, I would assume that you would know what he put in... It's kinda obvious... See you next time for the final chapter and probably the shortest chapter... I got a bit lazy... :D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hoo boy, time for the las chapter in the story! Should I be happy about that or sad? Probably both! :D Yeah I was really lazy in this chapter and its not as long as the others, especially compared to the previous one, but I think I did a decent job of doing it, you know setting the scene, explaning stuff, showing the character's emotions... that kinda stuff... Lemme know what you think :D**

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Sonic found himself being hurtled towards the ground seconds after transporting from the Ark, landing with his head stuck in the ground; the fashion in which he was usually left in. After pulling himself up from the dirt, he found that he was just outside the GUN headquarters building.

"Well, that'll do nicely,"

It took more time to actually get into the building then it did to transport his way back from the past and from space! 'I swear the security here think I'm some kind of double agent for Eggman!' the azure hedgehog thought as he casually strolled through the corridors. He was starting to find his way through the massive building now, after having been there for a few days. When he was looking for a room though he usually couldn't find it, so today he thought he would just take a stroll.

'Maybe I should go and see Shadow though, he might be wandering where I am'

Sonic ended up outside the medical wing again, lost in thought as usual. He heard someone muttering, bringing him out of his own thoughts, turning to see Carlie, who still looked troubled. Knocking lightly on the door to get her attention, Sonic walked in. He saw her staring into the wall, like there was some kind of complicated equation that was bugging her.

"Hey everything alright?"

"What?" Carlie looked up from her spot on the wall, "Oh sorry Sonic, I was just thinking,"

Carlie looked bewildered for a second before leaping out of her chair and grabbing a hold of the hedgehog by the shoulders.  
"Where on earth did you come from?!" she asked, not even giving him a chance to answer before adding, "I thought you'd disappeared after the fight with Eggman, we were worried sick about you!"

"Sorry,"

"Oh that's all you've got to say?"

"Really sorry?"

"Amy is right, you are hopeless!"

All the azure hedgehog could do was shrug, while Carlie did her best not to hit him.

"What happened?"

Sonic paused for a moment before replying to her,

"Not much really,"

It was then she noticed something on his arm. She frowned when she saw the faint scar on his arm, knowing that it was not there before. Sonic assured her that it was nothing, knowing that he was fine and changed the subject to ask about Shadow instead. Carlie hadn't seen him for a while, not since they got back from the forest. Sonic decided to bid her goodbye for now and try and locate the elusive older hedgehog.

It wasn't as hard as Carlie made it out to be, or maybe that was just him. After all he knew Shadow better than almost anyone, except maybe Rouge, oh and not forgetting the new friends he made, they were sure to know Shadow the best. Stepping out onto the make-shift balcony, Sonic spotted the dark blur on the ledge, looking thoughtfully out into the horizon. The sun was setting and the sky was lit beautifully with the streaks of red, mixing with the whites of the clouds. The beauty of the sight was one you could only experience when high up and Sonic smiled remembering his conversation with Shadow underneath the tree; if only he knew that it was beauty like this that called Sonic up those trees. The blue one said nothing whilst approaching his friend, for fear of disturbing the thoughts. He merely set himself down the other side and stared into the distance, admiring the beauty of the sight he currently saw. Shadow turned his head slightly, eyeing the hedgehog that had just intruded in on his thoughts. Now was as good a time as any to ask questions, though the blue one beat him to it.

"What happened while I was gone?" he asked, not taking his eyes of the horizon.

He didn't get an answer. He tuned to face Shadow, only to find him scowling at him. Shadow was narrowing his eyes Sonic, fists clenched. Sonic opened his mouth to say something, but was soon interrupted.  
"What happened?!" Shadow all but shouted, "What do you think happened?"

He didn't get a chance to answer,

"You disappeared!" Shadow poked Sonic in the chest hard to emphasize his point, "Carlie has been frantic with worry, and I got it in the neck with the Commander!"

"I'm sorry Shadow…"

"Oh really, what on earth was going on in that mind of yours?"

"Nothing I…"

"Exactly, you don't think, for all we knew you could have been gone forever!"

"Aw I didn't know you cared,"

"This isn't a joke faker, what would the fox cub have been like if you were gone forever?"

Sonic looked down the Cliffside, avoiding Shadow's gaze. Shadow finally calmed himself down, realizing what nerve he'd struck by bringing up Tails, and allowed Sonic to speak.  
"I know it was stupid Shadow, I'm not as idiotic as you think," he heard Shadow scoff before treading dangerous waters, "Shadow, what was Maria like?"

He watched as Shadow visibly tensed before relaying his answer, "She was…"

Several minutes of silence passed before he continued, "A wonderful person," he swallowed a lump in his throat that had suddenly formed, "She was kind to everyone,"

"Anything else?" Sonic asked slowly, a look of confusion was formed on the older hedgehog's muzzle, "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious, you've already told us that she was kind,"

Shadow didn't answer. After a few minutes of silence, Sonic decided that was enough and got up to leave. He was just about to get through the doorway, when a thought occurred. 'Should I tell him that I saw Maria and Professor Gerald?'

"Shadow?" he called,

"Yes?"

"Do you miss her?"

Shadow pondered for a while, he wanted to finish the conversation in a way that Sonic would never ask him something as sensitive as this again. Then he answered, "More than you would miss Tails if the situation was reversed,"

Sonic was caught a little off guard, but that was all he needed to hear. With a small nod and a weak smile, Sonic left the darker hedgehog to his thoughts; he had a certain fox cub he needed to see.  
Shadow continued to stare at the horizon, the sun had set behind the buildings and the sky was turning a mixture of dark blue and black, as night descended on Mobius. Shadow looked up as the stars were starting to peep out, smiling slightly at the joy they used to bring his Maria.

'I wish you were still here Maria, you'd have loved nights like this' he thought, scanning the bright sky.

Sonic had told him about star constellations and he was trying to find some of the ones he'd been told about. Among them he found two stars shining brighter than the rest. It was a familiar sight; they sparkled with life as Maria's did. 'She always was full of life,' Shadow sighed, peering down slightly to be met with an azure blur running of into the distance. He chuckled, returning his gaze to the stars. It was then he realized that the familiar spark of life he saw in Maria, he also saw in another. The same love for life, the same kindness, the same innocence. Making a mental note to report to the Commander in the morning, Shadow stood taking in one final moment with the stars before going towards the narrow tunnel,

'Rest easy my Friends, I'll see you again,'

* * *

**Yayyy Fin! Story done, I happy :D**

**Well Shadow has more to say in this chapter I suppose, I know people see him as a more tough character, someone who never shows his emotions, but he kinda doesn't, I mean he doesn't really show them too much to the others. I like to see Sonic and Shadow more brotherly than enemies, like in the Comics, and I think thy can relate to each other sometimes, so thats where this came from :D**

**See you next time, or should I say next story? Hehe :D**


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